Spyware developers net huge profits, outrage — With annual revenues of $2 billion, pop-up ads are a high-stakes game — Consumers have strong opinions about Direct Revenue's software. "If I ever meet anyone from your company, I will kill you," a person who identified himself as James Chang …

Why I support Rocketboom — It's pretty simple. — Rocketboom is bigger than two people. — It plays the role this weblog played in the early days of blogging. It distributes attention to all kinds of creative people doing coooool stuff. Lots of chuckles and lots of bings!

19 Rails Tricks Most Rails Coders Don't Know — When looking at my own Rails code and that of the community as a whole, I often see places where certain Rails techniques could have been used, but weren't. As much for my own memory as yours, I thought I'd list down some Rails tricks and tips …

New In Gmail: Apply Filters To Old Emails — Until now, Gmail allowed users to set filters only for the future emails. Now when you create a filter or update one, Gmail allows you to apply it to old emails (see Also apply filter to 160 conversations below in the screenshot). That's a very useful feature.

New Gmail features on the way — There are at least two new features that are making their way to Gmail accounts near you. The source code for Gmail confirms both of these features, but for most people the variable enabling them is set to "false". — The first feature is one that lets users delete …

Optical device could help read most disk formats — TOKYO — Trying to bridge the gap between next-generation optical disk formats, Ricoh said it has developed an optical component that reads and writes all disk formats—Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD, as well as DVD and CD—with one pickup and one objective lens.

ON MEDIA ELITISM AND THE "DERIVATIVE" MYTH — I am, in full disclosure, a member of the Media Elite. I'm a Conde Nast editor, run a glossy mainstream magazine, spent much of my career at The Economist and consort with known journalists. But nothing annoys me more than the oft-heard …

Optimizing AirPort Connectivity — Interference. It's the biggest problem these days with wireless ethernet and it will kill the speed of your connection. A 54Mb connection is capable of 6.9MB/s at 100% performance. You won't see 100% performance. You'll be lucky to see 90% (6.2MB/s).

Recon-X military-grade PDA is "everything-proof" — Intended primarily for captains of heavy industry, Tripod Data Systems' Recon X-Series pocket PCs are the toughest we've ever come across. Both new models, the 200MHz 200x and the 400MHz 400x, are tested to stand up to even the toughest conditions …

Ten signs you're tech obsessed — Most of us have a love-hate relationship with technology, but for some it goes beyond healthy admiration, writes Harriet Alexander. — Funny to think now how it all started so innocently. Then suddenly, phones became mobile, CD players gave way to MP3s …

Keyboard Food Tray — Many of us spend a lot of time working on the computer and sometimes we even have our meals while working. Due to the office supplies there is not enough space for food on the desk. Here is an ingenious design which makes use of the keyboard which occupies the max space on the desk.

Judge shows just how much he hates cell phones — Even if your company has a no-cell-phones policy in the workplace, your boss probably hasn't resorted to the tactics of one California judge. — U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb has apparently had enough of annoying ring tones disrupting his courtroom.